


The In-betweens of Love and Dating

by scribo_ad_astra



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Azuma Yukishiro - Freeform, Getting Together, Izumi Tachibana - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unconventional Relationship, Yuki Rurikawa - Freeform, and by implied i mean all but shouted with a megaphone from a rooftop, aroace misumi, implied aspec azuma and yuki, pan kazunari, written for ace week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27298315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribo_ad_astra/pseuds/scribo_ad_astra
Summary: Kazunari likes Misumi. And Kazunari's pretty sure Misumi likes him back. At least, he hopes so. Otherwise things are about to get a lot more awkward.
Relationships: Ikaruga Misumi/Miyoshi Kazunari
Comments: 11
Kudos: 75





	The In-betweens of Love and Dating

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I would get this done in time, but here it is! Happy (last day of) Ace Week, everybody!

Every third weekend in May, from Friday to Sunday, Veludo Arts University would hold an exhibition to showcase the best works from its aspiring artists. Students of all departments would spend the months leading to the event crying blood, sweat, and paint thinner, all in the hopes that their work would be selected for display; to show their families, friends, critics, and anyone else willing to pay the 500-yen entrance fee. 

Kazunari was surprised to hear that one of his paintings had actually gotten chosen. He'd invited everyone in Summer Troupe to go to the expo with him on opening day, but Tenma had a movie shoot, and Muku and Yuki had after-school cram sessions, so they'd try to see it over the weekend. Misumi had been very eager to see it, however, so the two of them decided to go together. 

Kazunari flashed his student ID badge to the security officer on duty and waited for Misumi to pay. 

"If you have any backpacks, phones, or recording devices, they need to be left in one of these lockers." The woman at the front desk said, gesturing to the rows of storage lockers on her right. Kazunari nodded.

"Got it, thanks!" 

They wandered around the gallery, taking in the artwork. Or at least, Kazunari did. Misumi, not much inclined to the philosophy of "stopping to smell the roses", only had to look at a painting for ten seconds before rushing off to the next sculpture or woodblock printing. 

"Kazu, look at this!" he shouted. Kazunari let his eyes linger a little more on the picture in front of him - cranes standing in water with impressive brushwork - before catching up to his friend. 

"What's up, Sumi?"

"I found some triangles!" He gestured to the sculpture in front of him. It was an abstract piece, made of thin metal wires twisted into several shapes including, yes, triangles. 

"Awesome!" He wished he had his phone, because Misumi totally had an instablam-worthy smile on his face right now. 

"Tri-tri-triangles!" Misumi flapped his hands and Kazunari smiled, because his excitement was absolutely contagious, and it made him feel slightly less resentful of ridiculously restrictive photography policies. 

"Hey, Miyoshi!" Kazunari spotted two of his classmates waving at him from the other side of the room. He waved back and went over to greet them. 

"Umechan, Takacchi, wassup?"

"Not much," Umeko, a short girl with purple lipstick and chin-length hair, replied. She was wearing a black dress and boots, the only splash of color being the red heart-shaped pendant on her choker. Beside her, Takashi, dressed more plainly in jeans and his soccer club shirt, was holding her hand.

"Are you guys on a date?" 

"Yeah," Takashi's ears turned red, but he answered straightforwardly. "What about you? It's not like you to be anywhere by yourself."

“Nah, I’ve got my friend with me.” Kazunari gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. Takashi followed his lead. 

“Where?”

“Right-” Kazunari turned around. Misumi was nowhere to be seen. “-there. Well, he’s somewhere around here.” He smiled and shrugged. 

“Kazu!” Misumi said, suddenly appearing out of thin air. “There’s lots of triangles in the next room!”

“Nice, Sumi!” Kazunari said. “Hey, have you met my friends? This is Umeko from the design department and Takashi from the sculpture department. You guys, this is Misumi.” 

“Hi~!” Misumi said. Takashi shook his hand. 

“So you’re Misumi? Miyoshi talks about you all the time, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name. He must be lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”

"Yep!" Kazunari nodded enthusiastically. "Sumi's my be-" wait. Did he just say _boyfriend?_ As in, _dating?_ Kazunari's mind reeled. Where had Takashi even gotten that idea? Sure, maybe he had mentioned Misumi once or twice in casual conversation. And shown a few of his classmates the Tiktoks he had made with Taichi featuring Misumi parkouring. And drawn him for their portrait studies class. And wow, none of this was helping his case at all. And now his classmates were looking at him quizzically. He had gone too long without talking. He had to say something. _Say something!_

Misumi squeezed his right arm, stepping closer. "Mhmm! Kazu's my most precious triangle!" 

"Aw, you guys even have weird nicknames for each other!" Umeko cooed. "That's adorable."

It was enough to shake Kazunari, fortunately. He nodded, sliding back into the conversation with practiced ease. “Yeppers! That’s- that’s right, haha.” He laughed nervously. Misumi, still leaning on his arm, caught his eye and winked. _Oh, that sneaky bastard._

At least they wouldn't have to pretend all day. "Well, it was totes fun seeing you guys! But I don't want to keep interrupting your date. Have fun!" 

"Hey, don't be like that, Kazupiko," Umeko teased, nudging his shoulder. "Takashi and I were just going to go to a cafe afterwards, you two should totally join us."

"No, I really couldn't-" his eyes flickered over to Takashi desperately. The taller man shrugged. 

"It's fine with me. I've never been on a double date before, sounds like it'd be fun."

"Double-"

"Does the cafe have crepes?" Misumi interrupted. 

"I think so?" 

"Then I'm in!" he cheered, turning. "Come on, Kazu, let's go!"

Kazunari's heart skipped a beat as Misumi grabbed his hand, their fingers lacing together as if it were the most natural thing in the world as they followed the couple down the street. 

The cafe was surprisingly quiet for being so near a college campus. Probably because it was a student holiday, Kazunari thought. A cute girl in pigtails and a maid uniform greeted them at the door before showing them to a booth and taking their drink orders. 

"So, Sumi-sumi," Umeko started, putting her black tea back down. "You have to tell me how you met Kazupiko." 

"We're in the same theatre troupe!" Misumi replied cheerfully. 

She blinked. "Oh! Takashi and I went to see one of Kazupiko's plays, that was you in the lead, wasn't it?"

"Yup!" 

"Wow, you were so good! And Kazu, you were so serious, I almost didn't recognize you!"

Takashi nodded in agreement. 

"Is everyone ready to order?" The waitress asked, appearing in front of them. 

Misumi looked up from the menu. "Do you have crepes?"

"Sorry, sweetie. We don't sell those here." 

"Oh." He frowned. 

"Sumi, look," Kazunari pointed to the back of his menu. "They have cake slices!" 

"Oh, you're right!" 

Kazunari looked at the waitress. "I'll have the strawberry matcha cake, please." 

"I'll take this one, please!" Misumi pointed to a yellow cake with triangle-shaped chocolate pieces on top. 

"One strawberry matcha, one lemon, got it." The waitress scribbled it down and turned. "How 'bout you two?" 

"We'll split a chocolate cake, thanks," Umeko ordered. "One plate, two forks."

"Got it. We'll be right out with your food."

"So you guys met doing theatre?" She looked at Kazunari this time. He nodded, both buoyed and intimidated by the hand squeezing his under the table. "Yep yep! Sumi and I have been in lots of plays together!" Three was a lot, right?

Misumi stirred his drink. "Kazu was the first person to talk to me," he said offhandedly. 

"That's Miyoshi for you," Takashi chuckled. "I bet he was chatting you up as soon as you walked through the audition door."

Kazunari and Misumi looked at each other and burst out laughing. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Nothing," Kazunari giggled, because imagining meeting Misumi at auditions was so mundane it was practically absurd. 

The waitress brought them their cakes. Kazunari took a quick pic of the pink and lime green pastry and picked up his fork, ready to dig in, when he was suddenly hit with a striking revelation. 

Misumi was still holding his hand. 

It wasn't a problem, per se - Kazunari was right-handed and he was left-handed, and it was their nondominant hands meeting in the middle. Misumi's fingers were thin and rough, covered in tiny nicks and calluses. He was tapping an uneven rhythm on Kazunari's wrist. 

_Maybe he's waiting for me to let go first?_ Kazunari wondered. _Oh no, what if I make things awkward? What? Get a grip, Miyoshi, it's not like you're actually dating him!_

Misumi suddenly gasped and let go of his hand, which solved one problem, at least. "A cat!"

"Where?" Umeko twisted around to face the same direction. A white and black feline was lazing under one of the tables. 

"Mrow, mrow!" Misumi leaned down, coaxing the kitty over and stroking the top of her head when she complied. 

"She says her name's Oreo!" He said as he picked her up in his arms. Oreo purred, rubbing against his face and making him laugh. Now THAT was a perfect shot. 

Kazunari whipped out his phone and flipped to the camera. "Sumi, over here! Say cheese!" 

"Triangle cheese!" Misumi grinned. Sunlight streamed through the window and reflected off his eyes, making them shine like gold. It was beautiful. He was-. 

_Ah. Shit._

Kazunari pushed the button half a second late. Misumi was already turned away, asking Takashi if he knew the student who had made the abstract sculpture. He put his phone down. The conversation carried on like usual, the other participants oblivious to the way the world had been turned upside down.

  
  


So he was in love with his best friend. Actually, Kazunari mused, it wasn't surprising at all, or at least as much as he might have thought. It wasn't like Misumi being another guy had thrown him off - Kazunari had learned pretty early on that gender was mostly irrelevant when it came to his tastes. He liked a nice face, and Misumi's face was as attractive as they come, with his beaming smile and softly downturned eyes and the mole under his left eye. He liked a nice body, and even though Misumi's preferred style choices mainly consisted of baggy sweatshirts and hoodies, Kazunari had seen him in and around the baths enough time to get a glimpse of his strong, wiry frame. It wasn't as much _beefcake_ as Omi or Tasuku, but it was solid, with well-defined shoulders. And he liked a nice personality - well, it _was_ Misumi. That guy could tell if someone was in a bad mood like a dog sniffing out a dead body; always there with an encouraging smile and assortment of triangles for whoever he deemed in need of them. Whether it was some extra large onigiri for Tenma when he had to wake up at 4 am for a shoot, some stickers on the homework Taichi had cried over the night before, or some toblerones left on Juza's desk as he stayed up late studying his script, practically everyone had gotten at least something vaguely triangular during their stay here. 

Kazunari put his pencil down and sighed, realizing he had filled the page with doodles of hearts instead of his actual assignment. He tore the paper out and tossed it in the wastebasket. 

Maybe he was rushing into things too fast, Kazunari thought as he started sketching again. He had dated several people in the past before, but none of those relationships had lasted longer than a few months before they had both lost interest. People had called him easy (and worse things as well, but Kazunari didn’t care, or at least he pretended not to), but Kazunari didn’t think that was necessarily true. He was simply in love with love, with the feeling of intimacy between people that motivated them, gave them courage, drove them mad. He dreamed of meeting his true love one day - somewhere dark and crowded, perhaps at a bar or club. They’d be on the other side of the room, chatting with friends, or maybe alone. Kazunari’s eyes would meet theirs, and in between the pulsing music and mingling crowd, they would both smile at each other. And then the other person would come over, and-

_No, no, no!_ Kazunari shook his head. He had to snap out of it! After all, he wasn’t even sure if Misumi liked him back!

  
  


The heat smothered the air like a blanket, with humidity so thick Kazunari could practically taste it. Even with all the windows open and the fan running at full blast, it was too sweltering to be wearing anything but shorts and a tank top. The only thing that stopped Kazunari from stripping down to his boxers completely was the sound of Izumi in the kitchen across from them, banging on pots and pans as she moaned about being banned from making curry in this weather. (Well, he thought to himself, there’s a bright side to everything.)

He was sitting on one end of the sofa, working on designing the flyers for the upcoming Winter Troupe play. Misumi was sprawled out, his head resting against Kazunari’s leg and his tongue sticking out as he concentrated on a metal puzzle Banri had lended him. 

Kazunari highlighted the title text. The photos Azuma and Tasuku had taken were rife with inspiration, each one dripping with a dark and alluring atmosphere. Maybe he should make the text red? It was a vampire play, after all. No, that looked too cartoonish. He should probably stick to monochrome, make the font thinner, maybe something with a bit of flourish as well.... 

Azuma walked in just as he was putting the finishing touches on the flyer. “Comfortable?” He smiled in amusement. 

“Mmm,” Misumi stretched his arm out, the sleeve of his tank top slipping down his shoulder. “Yep!” 

“Looks like it,” the older man chuckled lightly. “How about you, Kazunari? Your face looks a little red.”

Kazunari tore his eyes away from the distractingly bare skin. “I’m-” He was suddenly interrupted by Misumi sitting up and grabbing his face, resting his forehead against his and staring at him intently. 

“Ah, Kazu,” he exclaimed, “you’re warm!”

Kazunari made a sound that was a bit too similar to a dying whale for his liking. “I’m fine, Sumi!” he smiled weakly, pulling away. Azuma laughed. 

  
  


“The votes for our next fundraising event are in.”

“Is it the bake sale?” Sakuya asked, leaning forward. “Everybody in Spring said they voted for that.”

Sakyo looked down at the paper, where Masumi had signed his name under _curry contest_ and Itaru had signed under _other_ and added _wario kart tournament_. “...no. The leading result, with eleven votes in total, is the raffle date.”

Izumi scowled. 

Kazunari tapped his finger on the kitchen table. It was the off season, which meant most of the company’s revenue came from side projects and other money-making schemes like this. The meeting was mostly for Izumi and the troupe leaders; Kazunari was there to get info to design the ads, and Sakyo was there to remind everyone about the budget. Misumi was there too, sitting at the bar and munching on onigiri as he watched the others talk. 

Izumi clapped her hands. “Okay, raffle date it is! Do we have suggestions for our three contestants?”

Tenma raised his hand. Sakyo nodded. “Of course, everyone under eighteen will be exempt.” He put his hand down.

“Omi and Tasuku might be a good fit,” Banri said. “Azuma, too.”

“Itaru and Citron have their own appeal as well.” Tsumugi added. “It might be harder deciding than I thought…”

“Don’t forget, you’re qualified as well.”

“Me?” he blushed. “I’m not sure about that.”

“My vote’s for Azuma.”

Misumi swallowed the last bite of onigiri and licked the remaining rice off his fingertips. “I think Kazu should do it. He’s pretty.” 

Silence fell over the room. Misumi looked up. Everyone was staring at him - everyone except Kazunari, that is. 

“Ahaha, thanks, Sumi!” he laughed, the tips of his ears bright red. 

  
  


Okay, so maybe he didn’t have _definitive_ proof that Misumi liked him back. But telling a person point-blank to their face that they were pretty had to count for something, right? He hoped so.

Kazunari found Misumi sitting on the edge of the balcony (literally). He took a deep breath as he opened the door. He had spent the last week preparing for this, everything had to be perfect. 

“Hey, Sumi,” he said casually as he idled up to him. “Whatcha doing?”

Misumi turned to him and smiled that brilliant, stunning smile. “I’m cloud-watching! Want to join me?” 

“Sure.” Kazunari leaned against the railing, looking up at the fluffy white clouds drifting overhead. A few minutes of silence passed. 

“Do you like anyone?” he blurted out. There. Now Misumi would say no, and Kazunari would have the perfect opportunity to-

“Yep!”

Kazunari almost fell over. “You- you what? Who?”

“Triangles!”

“Oh,” he sighed in relief. “No, I mean _like_ like.”

Misumi tilted his head. “I like triangles,” he repeated. 

“Any people?” Kazunari asked desperately. 

“I like you!” Kazunari perked up. “And Tenma and Itaru and the Director!” He slumped back down again. Misumi blinked. 

“Kazu, is something wrong?”

Kazunari laughed weakly. Why did he even bother? Even if he did find the courage to say how he felt, Misumi had already made it perfectly clear that he didn’t reciprocate. 

“Nope, nothing.” He stepped back. His legs were feeling wobbly. “Uh, I just remembered I have to. Clean. I mean, homework. Yeah. So. See ya later!” He waved with a smile as he stumbled backwards through the door. 

“...Kazu!” Misumi called, but he was already gone. 

Kazunari ran through the halls, hot tears building up in his eyes. He scrubbed them away. Muku was in their room, so he found himself flinging open the door to the bathroom and slamming it shut, crumpling to the floor. 

Being rejected never felt worse. (Not like it ever felt good, but this time around it felt like all his emotions had been wrung out and amplified times a thousand.) Kazunari wanted to die of embarrassment. Or just cry his eyes out and pretend the whole thing never happened, whichever came first. 

The door handle jiggled. Kazunari sniffled. “IT’S OCCUPIED!” Wow, that came out harsher than he meant to. Hopefully Muku wasn’t the one out there.

There was a long pause. 

“Kazu?” Oh no, that was much worse. Why couldn’t it be Muku?

Kazunari buried his face in his knees. He heard the door shake again, before finally sliding open. Misumi knelt down beside him, taking Kazunari’s hand gently and placing something in it. 

“Here. Super Sankaku-kun will help you feel better.”

Kazunari stared at the pocket-sized plushie. “How’d you get in here?”

“I picked the lock!” 

“Of course.” He smiled and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. 

“I love you, Sumi.”

“I know.” 

“Huh?” Kazunari’s eyes shot open. He wasn’t expecting that kind of response. Misumi was looking down, an uncharacteristically sad smile on his face. 

“You don’t like me back, do you.”

“No!” Misumi shook his head quickly. “I...I like you too. But I don’t-” he swallowed. “I don’t feel the same way.”

“...”

“...”

“...what?”

  
  


Misumi wasn’t a very big fan of movies. Film actors didn’t have the same flair as stage actors - their movements were too subdued, expressions too subtle. Half the acting was done with the camera zooming too far in or too far out. But it was movie night at Mankai Company, and the spy thriller Taichi had picked out was interesting, if a bit convoluted. Misumi rested his chin on his knees from his position on the floor and wondered if he could recreate the stunt the main character just did. First he needed to find a thirty story building. Itaru worked in a high-rise office, right? Maybe that could work. 

He tilted his head back. “Itaru-”

“Shh! They’re just getting to the good part!” Taichi cried out.

Huh? Misumi turned back to the screen. The protagonist had just been attacked by one of his rivals in a hotel room, but he’d been able to pin her to the wall, and now they were talking. A filler scene. 

“Itaru, can we-”

“Misumi, I promise I will do anything you ask once the movie’s over if you just stay quiet.”

Misumi pouted. The rival spy had discarded her top, and was now in a totally impractical (but admittedly pretty) lace bra that showed off more than it covered up. Taichi leaned forward, while Sakyo, who was sitting beside him, looked viscerally uncomfortable. 

The camera panned down to the actresses legs, and a few seconds later there was a shot of said bra falling to the floor. Misumi jumped up, mumbled something about getting more snacks, and dashed out of the room. 

He hopped up on the bar stool as he watched the popcorn spin around in the microwave, soon followed by the telltale crackling sound and buttery aroma. It would look suspicious if he went back empty-handed, and popcorn took long enough to cook that the scene would probably be over by the time he finished. 

“Not enjoying the film?”

“Azuma!” Misumi sat up, then paused. The other man grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water before taking a seat next to him. 

“Are you…” Misumi blinked. “Are you not liking the movie either?”

“It seemed like a good time to take a break,” he winked. 

“Oh,” Misumi said. “I thought you…”

The corner of Azuma’s mouth crinkled, not quite a smile but somewhat closely resembling one. “Thought I what?”

“Nothing.” He slumped down on the counter. Azuma was so mature, and sophisticated, he probably wouldn’t understand. 

The microwave beeped. “Do you ever feel different?” Misumi blurted out. 

Azuma put his glass down. “I think everyone feels that way at one point or another.” He fiddled with a ring on his hand, a recent gift from one of his clients. 

“You’re right,” Misumi sighed. He shouldn’t be moping around over something so trivial, not when he had a home and a family and everything else anyone would want. 

“Maybe so,” Azuma said after a few minutes. “But you’d be surprised how alike people can be in the most unexpected ways.”

“What do you mean?”

Azuma just smiled mysteriously. “I think your popcorn’s done.”

  
  


That hadn’t made sense, but then again, most of his conversations with Azuma didn’t. He shoved it to the back of his mind, and by the time Summer Troupe was doing practices the next day, he’d all but forgotten about it.

“Is that what you call flirty?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Mr. High-and-Mighty, how would you suggest it?” Yuki snapped. 

“Like this.” Tenma tilted his head and batted his eyes, a coy smile on his face. 

“And how is that different from what I was doing?!”

“Well, you weren’t convincing!”

“As if anyone would be convinced by you, hack!”

“Hey, hey!” Kazunari threw his hands up. “There’s other ways to be flirty too, maybe Yuki could try one of those?”

“Like what?” 

“Like…” He turned to Misumi and winked. “Hey, cutie! Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“I’m not doing that,” Yuki deadpanned. When nobody was looking, Misumi put his hand over his heart to quell the fluttering. 

The fluttering did not stop. In fact, it only got worse. Every time Kazunari talked, or smiled, or laughed, Misumi’s heart would soar, only to be brought down by his stomach twisting itself into knots. 

He’d grown so used to the gnawing emptiness in his chest after his grandfather died, the gaping hole that never seemed to be filled no matter how many backflips he did or how many stray cats he petted. It was like a constant void of regrets, of _what ifs_ and _if onlys_ whispering in the back of his mind. But being a part of Mankai had changed that. Little by little the emptiness left; every time Itaru invited him to play a game together (and didn’t get fed up when he just wanted to push the triangle button over and over), every time Banri shoved a claw-game prize at him while muttering _“I just happened to win this, you can have it if you want, I don’t really care”_ , every time Omi praised his onigiri-making skills or Izumi congratulated him on a performance well done. Some days his heart was so full, Misumi was half-afraid it might explode. 

So it wasn’t hard to identify the feeling, especially after the fake dating incident with Kazu’s friends. Misumi didn’t think he was in love - that involved a list of things he’d place directly under rectangles in things he didn’t want to think about. But it was, undoubtedly, love that he felt. He felt it often, even if it was always different. His love for his grandfather was warm and comforting, but tinged with pain and bittersweetness. His love for his brother was fragile, soft, a little dented but still persistent. His love for Summer Troupe was like fireworks, constantly exploding in bursts of frenzied energy. He loved everybody in Mankai, but Kazu was...Kazu was something special. Kazu, who smiled at everyone, but every time he smiled at Misumi it was a little softer, a little more natural. Kazu, who had stood across from him in the unlit dorm, green eyes flicking up from behind his phone to meet his as he asked for his name amidst the squabbling crowd that had suddenly gathered in his room. Kazunari was so warm, being around him made Misumi feel warm too, like he was surrounded by the best triangles in the world. 

There was only one problem. 

  
  


“Are you okay, Misumi? You’re not acting like yourself today.”

“Mmph.” Misumi hugged his knees as he sat on the sofa. “I don’t know.” 

“You don’t know?” Izumi echoed with a frown. Muku looked up from the manga he was reading curiously. “Are you feeling sick?”

“It’s not that,” he shook his head. “My stomach feels all...twisty and not triangular.”

“Like butterflies?”

“Maybe.” He’d heard that expression before. “I don’t have stage fright, though.”

“Well, there are a lot of reasons to be nervous. Do you know what’s causing it?”

Misumi nodded. “Mhmm, it’s-” he stopped. 

Muku closed his book and looked up, expression oddly serious. “Misumi-san...you said you have butterflies in your stomach?”

“Mhmm.”

“And your heart,” the middle schooler leaned forward, “does it ache with longing and beat faster than usual?”

“Yeah!” 

Muku’s eyes widened. “Does it happen when you think of a person?”

Misumi gasped. “How did you know?”

Muku squealed. “Misumi-san! Do you know what this means? You’re in love!”

“In...love?”

He nodded. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Do we know them? Oh! Is it someone in the company? But Misumi-san, you can’t date a coworker, what if you break up and the romantic tension tears the umfpff-”

Izumi took her hand off Muku’s mouth. “Misumi-kun can date whoever he wants to, in Mankai or out,” she scolded with a smile before turning to him, hardly disguising her own excitement. “So who is it?”

“Um…” Misumi hesitated. “You said...in love?” That couldn’t be right. “Like in the books and movies?”

“Mhmm!” Muku nodded. “This is so romantic! Have you confessed yet?”

“I-” No, because he had nothing to confess! What was he supposed to say? _I like you, now let’s keep doing what we were already doing and not change a single thing?_

Izumi patted his arm understandingly. “Hey, I’ve been there. It might be scary, but you should still tell them. Besides,” she smiled, “if they know you, I’m sure they like you already.”

“Haha, right!” Misumi smiled and nodded, but his stomach twisted even harder. Muku and Izumi had gotten the wrong idea. 

  
  


Misumi hated thinking about things he didn’t like, so he did what he always did when his mind started whispering - he ran. Down the streets, across the rooftops, stopping only for the occasional cat before darting off again. He really was a coward, not being able to face Kazunari like that. He tried to imagine Kazu and him in the romance movies Muku always picked out to watch. Holding hands, snuggling, staying up late together - they already did that. What else? Going out to fancy restaurants. Kissing on the cheeks. And on-

That thought made him shudder, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and locked it away. Maybe it’s because he was as immature as people said. Another part of being made all wrong, and broken, with pieces that didn’t seem to fit anywhere. (Misumi had to remind himself that he did have a place to belong now.) Kazunari was the best in the world, right after triangles, but even he wouldn’t understand. 

Misumi jumped, realizing only a little too late that he’d miscalculated the distance between the roofs. He looked up at the sky. _Oh, a triangle cloud,_ was his only thought as he plummeted to the ground. 

Omi took one look at him as he walked into the kitchen, holding his wrist gingerly, and immediately forced him into a chair. Misumi was able to convince him not to wrap it - it wasn’t broken, he’d broken his wrist before and it felt a lot worse than this - but Omi still wasn’t satisfied until he’d at least put some ice on it. 

“What happened?”

“I just fell off a roof,” Misumi shrugged. 

“...Right.”

It took an agonizingly long fifteen minutes before Omi had declared the swelling had gone down enough, as long as he didn’t strain the injury by doing his usual acrobatics. Misumi flexed his fingers and rolled his wrist. It still hurt, but not as much as before. Besides, he wanted to go outside and see if he could spot any more triangle clouds. 

  
  


“What?” Kazunari repeated in confusion. “What do you mean you don’t feel the same way?”

Misumi shook his head. “Kazu should be with someone who makes him happy.” It hurt to say, but it was true. 

“I...what?” Kazunari was starting to feel like a broken record. “But you make me happy.”

“Not like that. You have to pick someone else. Anyone else, please.”

Kazunari frowned. He was used to people thinking he was a player, but coming from his closest friend stung. “I don’t want just anybody. I want you.”

“But I don’t know what I want!” Misumi blurted out. “If we start dating, things have to be different! I thought I wanted things to stay the way they are, but I don’t, but I also don’t want to kiss you or- or anything like that and that’s what you have to _do_ when you’re dating and-”

“Sumi.” Kazu put his finger on his lips. “Do you love me?”

“I...”

“Just say yes or no.”

He shut his mouth and nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, I love you.”

“Good.” Kazunari put his finger down, smiling. “That’s all I need to hear.”

Misumi swallowed. “Kazu should be with someone who loves him back the right way, though.”

Kazunari hummed, rocking on his heels. “Who’s to say what’s right, anyways? If I love you, and you love me, that’s enough, isn’t it?”

“But-”

“Misumi.” He grabbed his shoulders firmly. “I love you, okay? I love you because you’re you, you’re amazing and nice and being with you makes me feel like, like I just won the lottery or something? I dunno, Homare’s the one with all the poetic metaphors. The point is, if you don’t want to do any of that stuff, it doesn’t matter to me. Well, it does matter, but like, only because I don’t want to hurt you or anything so-”

“Kazu.” This time it was Misumi’s turn to shut him up.

“Yeah?”

Misumi smiled, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “Let’s go cuddle.”

“Absolutely.”

  
  


“Man,” Itaru yawned as he stumbled into the living room. Grinding on the last day of events was always a bloodbath, and this particular event had been especially brutal. “I’m beat.”

“Shh!” Yuki hissed forcefully, pointing to the sofa.

“Hmm?” Itaru put his hand down and looked over. Misumi was sprawled out, fast asleep and snoring softly. His right arm had fallen down, while his left arm was draped over Kazunari, who was sleeping on top of him. Kazunari’s left arm was hanging off the edge as well, their fingers curling together even as they slept. 

“Aww,” Izumi said softly as she watched the scene before her, wiping her eyes.

Yuki raised his eyebrow. “Are you crying?”

“No!” She sniffled. “They just grow up so fast, you know?”

“You know they’re not your kids?”

“Don’t tell her,” Banri muttered. “She might crack.”

Misumi woke up a few minutes later, stirred by the soft chatter of people eating breakfast in the kitchen. 

“Kazu,” he whispered, poking the sleeping log on top of him. No response. “Kazuuu~”

“Mm,” Kazunari yawned. “Five more minutes….”

“...I’ll give you a triangle kiss if you wake up.”

“What’s that? Okay, I'm awake."

Misumi kissed his forehead, then both his cheeks. “There! Three makes a triangle.”

“Haha, nice.” He smiled and slumped over. “You know, I’m still feeling tired. Maybe more triangle kisses will help me wake up.” He winked, then leaned over to kiss Misumi’s cheek. 

A throw pillow hit them both in the face. 

“Get a room, you two!” Yuki shouted, face burning pink. Misumi blinked, suddenly realizing they weren’t alone. Izumi was sobbing in the corner as Sakyo tried to console her. Muku had his face buried in his hands, ears a bright red as he peeked curiously through his fingers. Banri was smirking as he held his phone up, obviously taking pictures, while Homare waxed poetic in the background. Misumi and Kazunari looked at each other and burst into laughter. 

Azuma smiled to himself as he sipped his morning tea, watching the young couple. Misumi leaned against Kazunari as he ran his fingers through his hair. Absentmindedly, he twisted the black ring on his finger. There was something he should tell Misumi about later. And Yuki too, while he was at it. Maybe he should get a head start and ask Omi to start baking a cake. 


End file.
